Leroy Chiao

A former NASA astronaut who has been called "a pioneer in the frontier of commercial space flight," Leroy Chiao encourages audiences to stop at nothing in the pursuit of their dreams.

Astronaut, Performance Specialist, and Innovation/Technology Futurist

Expertise In:

Inspiring Lives

Leadership

Motivation

Innovation

Futurism

Audience & Industry

Corporations

The Finance Industry

Associations

A former NASA astronaut who has been called “a pioneer in the frontier of commercial space flight,” Leroy Chiao encourages audiences to stop at nothing in the pursuit of their dreams.

Astronaut Leroy Chiao enlightens and motivates audiences with captivating talks on international business leadership, operational leadership, teamwork and the future of innovative technology. There are few people on Earth who can claim to approach…or even imagine the astronomical wonder of Chiao's journey through life. The wide-eyed child of Chinese immigrants, Chiao was inspired by the Apollo 11 Moon landing to launch his own journey to the stars. He flew four missions into space, including three Space Shuttle flights, walked in space six times, co-piloted a Russian Soyuz spacecraft and was afforded the honor of commanding the International Space Station, on a six-and-a half month mission. After his NASA flying career, Chiao applied his unique perspectives on leadership and technology to the business world. He is a co-founder and president of a space technology startup, and previously served as CEO of a biomedical materials company.

Featured Videos

Leroy Chiao's Speech Topics

Virtual Keynote: Make Tomorrow Better than Today

During these challenging times, Dr. Chiao is offering a special keynote on dealing with uncertainty and motivation. This interactive virtual program allows everyone to participate individually from their home work space and can be delivered at any time of day.

Currently, most people of the world face an unprecedented scale of challenges both professional and personal. As a NASA astronaut of four space missions, including a 6-1/2-month flight aboard the International Space Station, Dr. Chiao brings a unique message of practical positivity to your people.

Planning, training and anticipating problems are the key operational fundamentals of spaceflight, and your business. It is also important to plan for future unpredictable events, as astronauts do for their space missions.

Learn how astronauts deal with the unexpected and unpredictable and how these points can help you and your business today. Personal stories from Dr. Chiao’s experiences over his four spaceflights illustrate and reinforce these ideas.

In space, effective leadership can make the difference between life and death, success and failure – especially during a crisis. In this presentation, Dr. Leroy Chiao shares provocative and awe-inspiring stories from his four space missions, including nail-biting tales of real emergency situations, and shows audiences how lessons learned from operational spaceflight can impact their organizations. Using his personal experience as the commander of a 193-day mission aboard the International Space Station, he illustrates how reaching for the stars is important, but even more so is honing the operational decision-making skills required to not only stay alive, but thrive.

With the help of breathtaking photos, he outlines the five key leadership lessons learned from his time in space:

1.) Training is not something you can switch on and off; it must be a continuous learning process,

2.) Keep your eye on the long-term goal, but ensure that you are safe in the short-term so you have time and the capacity to accomplish it,

3.) Keep crises in perspective and make sure you don’t exacerbate a problem,

4.) Ask for help if necessary, but never forget you are ultimately responsible, and

5.) Sometimes immediate action is required; anticipate and be prepared for it.

Chiao’s talk is great for leaders in all sectors who work in a complex environment, who take calculated risks, and who “push the envelope.”

Journey of the First Chinese-Heritage Professional Astronaut

Born in the United States, Leroy Chiao was the first NASA astronaut of full Chinese heritage. The wide-eyed child of immigrants, Chiao was inspired by the Apollo-11 Moon landing to launch his own journey to the stars. But his journey was not simple or easy. He overcame challenges like bullying and discrimination, and had to make the right choices as a young person, to stay healthy. Hear firsthand on how he persevered, succeeded and flew four missions into space, including three Space Shuttle flights, walked in space six times, co-piloted a Russian Soyuz spacecraft and was afforded the honor of commanding the International Space Station, on a six-and-a half month mission.

Chiao, also holds the distinction of being the first astronaut of Chinese heritage to perform a spacewalk and to command a space mission, Dr. Chiao’s story is an inspiration to all, especially for young people!

Endeavor to the Next Level!

What does it take to jump to the next level? It takes the right kind of leadership to foster a culture, which emphasizes the rigor of operational excellence, but also encourages using collaboration, curiosity and creativity to take calculated risks and novel paths. It is also vital that your enterprise stays up to date on technology and innovation trends, to stay in the lead position.

During spaceflight, operational decision-making can make the difference between life and death, success and failure – especially during a crisis. But in some cases, it is the novel solution that saves the day. In this presentation, Dr. Leroy Chiao shares provocative and awe-inspiring stories from his four space missions, including nail-biting tales of real emergency situations, and shows audiences how lessons learned from spaceflight can impact their organizations. Using his personal experience as the commander of a 193-day mission aboard the International Space Station, he illustrates how reaching for the stars is important, but even more so is honing the skills required to not only stay alive, but thrive.

In addition, understanding where innovation is driving technology trends is key to planning for the future. Having been in technology companies and NASA, Dr. Chiao is no stranger to this world. He offers an exciting glimpse into life in the future and shares insights on a world in which technology is accelerating much more quickly than ever before – presenting new opportunities for businesses poised to take action, or threats to those who are slow to adapt. He presents real-world examples of companies, which thrived or suffered depending on their ability to change with the times. Imagine a world in which you are connected directly to the Internet using thought-controlled computer augmentation and a virtual heads-up display. Imagine a life where personalized medicine allows treatments tailored to your genetics, where replacement organs are grown to be identical to your own.

Through awe-inspiring stories of his time in space and breathtaking photos, Chiao looks at what is coming around the bend and how organizations can take advantage of the next technological phase and form the right culture to jump to the next quantum level!

To the Stars! – Leaving Complacency Behind

Complacency in any organization leads to loss of efficiency and opportunities in the best case, and loss of the business or even life in the worst. Complacency is an insidious slow-burning problem, which usually begins and builds without anyone really noticing. In this thought-provoking presentation, Dr. Leroy Chiao discusses success in space exploration and business using his personal spaceflight stories and photographs, as well as failures at NASA and other organizations. Chiao introduces case studies and examines the symptoms, causes and effects of organizational and individual complacency. He discusses mitigation and maintenance strategies to leave complacency behind in your endeavor, to reach the stars!

Technology and Innovation Trends, and Your Business

Understanding where innovation is driving technology trends is key to planning for the future. Dr. Leroy Chiao is no stranger to this world. He offers an exciting glimpse into life on the next quantum level and shares insights on a world in which technology is accelerating much more quickly than ever before – presenting new opportunities for businesses poised to take action. Imagine a world in which you are connected directly to the Internet using thought-controlled computer augmentation and a virtual heads-up display or a world in which sensors can identify you instantly – allowing you to travel smoothly and securely, whether you use commercial travel or your automatically piloted vehicle. Imagine a life where personalized medicine allows treatments tailored to your genetics, where replacement organs are grown to be identical to your own. Through awe-inspiring stories of his time in space and breathtaking photos, Chiao looks at what is coming around the bend and how organizations can take advantage of the next technological phase.

What Other Organizations Say About Leroy Chiao

Leroy Chiao’s presentation helped to make the event one of the most successful to date. His message inspired everyone in attendance.